Journey
by BurningCrab
Summary: Drake Diamond is thrust into a strange new world to fight the enigmatic X. He and his motley crew of teens fight old and new threats. This is my first story. :T
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I hope you like it! Reviews, constructive criticism, and the like are appreciated.**

Chapter 1: Punch Wood

There was whiteness, all around me, blinding me, smothering me. The whiteness did not seem to harm me, and I wondered where I was, and why I was here. I noticed I couldn't feel my legs - or anything else, for that matter. _What do I do, then? _I thought. "_You know what to do. You are Drake Diamond, and you are destined to save us."_ A voice rang out, coming from nowhere and everywhere. The voice seemed to belong to a teenager, like myself. As I wondered how I knew how old I was, a new, artificial-sounding voice said, "Building world, generating terrain, saving chunks."

_I am Drake. I am Drake Diamond._

"_Yes. Now, go. Go save us."_ The first voice told me.

The new voice said, "Spawning…" Everything went black, and I passed out.

-{}-

"Uhg…" I groaned. _What happened, and where am I? _I wondered. I opened my eyes, and was astounded. Everywhere were colors, greens and blues and reds. A spectacular palette greeted my eyes, and for a moment, I stood, taking in everything. The world had given a wonderful first impression. Then I noticed something more pressing than the colors. The terrain, foliage, and everything else besides me was cuboid. This was… strange, I knew. I thought back, and I had no memories besides that of the white void. All at once, a primal urge came over me, and I realized what I had to do.

I started punching trees. The blocky bits of wood gave under my fists and became little floating miniatures. They zoomed towards me, and disappeared. I looked behind me, wondering where they had gone, and saw a green backpack. Figuring it was there for a reason, I looked inside, half expecting to see nothing. There was a small 2x2 square with the word "crafting" above it, which I ignored, and a small picture of the wood I had gotten with a "5" in the corner. So it was there. I took that out, and held it. Some instinct told me to flick one of the blocks, and as I did so, a full-size replica of the picture appeared in front of me, looking just like one of the logs I had collected.

I returned it to my pack and examined the small grid for "crafting". Not knowing what else to do, I placed a log in one of the squares. A different kind of wood materialized in a different square, with an arrow pointing to it and a small "4" in the corner. I took that out, and realized I had "crafted" four of these refined blocks of wood. I repeated the process and collected more wood, until I had approximately 64 or so wood planks. They could only stay in piles of 64, but this was not an issue, as my pack felt no heavier. The physics of this new place were very strange.

I decided to just explore this interesting world for a while. Without a destination in mind, I wandered around. I found myself on a flat plain, and surveyed the nearby terrain. To my right was the forest where I had collected wood, and to the left was more plains and a desert. In front of me was a large mountain range. I turned around and saw a sandy beach, and water that seemingly stretched onto infinity. Cave openings dotted the ground, and I saw a deep ravine near the edge of the desert.

"MOO!"

I froze. There, a bit to my right, was a cow, with white spots and horns. We looked at each other for a while until the cow walked over to the nearest tree and stopped in the shade. I realized I was itching to kill it for the food it would most likely give me. As though agreeing with me, my stomach growled. Without a suitable weapon, I had to resort to using my fists. It did not take long, and soon the cow gave one last "MOO!" and poofed into smoke, leaving behind a few floating bits of meat and a piece of leather.

Munching on a bit of the beef raw, I noticed something in the distance that looked rather out-of-place. A chest sat on the ground a few blocks away. I jogged over, wary, and looked inside. The contents seemed disappointing, just a small book titled, "Minecraft: a Guide, by BurningCrab." _What a strange name,_ I thought. I flipped through, and then stopped. Turning back to the front page, I read the book more in-depth, and realized it was quite useful after all. There were some pages on the animals (apparently called "mobs") and blocks in this world, and a segment on tools and weapons. It also had pages and pages of crafting recipes, combinations of materials I recognized and many I did not. I saw a note about how a crafting cable was required to make most of the items in the book.

_Well, then I guess I make a crafting table?_ I placed a plank in each part of my crafting grid, and a little block with a saw and a hammer was the result. I took that and placed it down. On the top was a larger, 3x3 version of the grid in my pack. I had figured out how to craft everything!

Turning my attention back to the book, I saw a small title in the last few pages. It said, "For Drake Diamond's eyes only." Intrigued, I read on. What followed was shocking. "Drake. I am BurningCrab. I am watching over you. I cannot intervene in your life, but think of me as a guardian angel. If you have found this, you most likely have some wood. Make a wooden pickaxe with the planks and sticks you can craft, and dig downwards. There, you will find stone. Collect it and any coal you see. Coal looks like stone with black speckles. Then, your instincts will help you. You are a hero, Drake. You were born fated to save this world. A mysterious evil resides here, known as X. Beware of him, for you are not prepared to fight him yet. Seek out others, there is strength in numbers. There is nothing else I can do to help you. We may meet someday, but for now, I wish you luck. Goodbye and good luck, Drake Diamond."

**A/N: So, here is the first installment of Drake Diamond's journey! And yes, I used myself as the mysterious god/angel. This is my first story, and I am still working on my writing skill. Please, I need OC's, so review with a short description and all that stuff, and I will try to incorporate your character. Questions to characters are fine too. Updates will come out as soon as possible. Again, any suggestions/constructive criticism are appreciated. I may or may not include Notch and Herobrine. Same goes for the Aether. That is really all I need to say now, so… Crab Out!**

**-Edit one- Rewrote the chapter because the first draft was written in 20 minutes at 9:00. It is longer and more in-depth.**

**-Edit two- Fixed a few minor issues pointed out by my first reviewer Bluebird5555.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello to my few readers! It is BurningCrab, with a new installment of Journey! I have one OC submission, from my sole reviewer Bluebird5555! Hurrah for that! I am not making promises about when I will update, so… yeah. Anywho, I am still accepting OCs. The OC contest ends either when there are 3 or so characters I like or when I feel like I am overwhelmed. Just to let you all know, I will either answer questions about the story in a PM or in the next chapter. Now, here is the second chapter!**

A horde of emotions tore through me. Fear, amazement, courage. Anger and determination. I sat for a moment, trying to process the information I had just read. It was funny how a few sentences could change my entire life- a short one so far, but a life nonetheless.

This BurningCrab's advice seemed useful, so I reread the part about stone and coal. Then I flipped back to the crafting recipes and created a wood pickaxe from some sticks and a few planks. I hefted the makeshift tool and looked at it doubtfully. _Will this really work?_ I wondered. Hesitating a bit, I dug out some dirt with my hands and, sure enough, found stone. I decided to mine in a stairway so I could get back up. I whacked the stone for a bit, seeing cracks appear in the rock, and soon it broke, floating in miniature form until it zoomed into my pack. I looked inside and saw a cracked-looking version of the stone I had mined. I checked the book to see if that was normal, and was relieved when it said that it was. Going back to the stone, I collected thirty or so more blocks, then sat back, exhausted from smashing the fragile wood on the hard stone for so long.

I remembered the BurningCrab dude or whatever his name was saying something about finding coal, so I turned around and broke a few more blocks. Quite quickly, I was rewarded with a black-speckled bit of stone. I mined out that and the rest of the vein, leaving me with 23 coal chunks. I climbed back out of my mine and noticed something.

The sky had grown noticeably darker while I was mining. Consulting the book once more, I read that there were various monsters that could "spawn" in the dark. _That probably isn't good…_ I thought. I quickly crafted a rudimentary stone sword and prepared to fight anything that came my way. I walked back over to the plains, figuring I would have better visibility there. The orange sun sank below the horizon, and a full moon rose on the other side of the sky. I saw some strange creatures appear seemingly from nowhere.

A dumb-looking, greenish person spawned nearby and began growling and gurgling. With my handy book, I deduced this was a zombie. They seemed to be rather common. Next was a skeleton with a dangerous-looking bow. An armless, sad-faced green thing also hopped up on a hill, apparently called a "creeper". The guide warned that they exploded, so I kept my distance. A large group of giant spiders spawned to my left, and scuttled around saying, "Schee-oo!" _Yet another thing to avoid, _I grumbled to myself. Suddenly, something growled right behind me and I yelped, jumping and twisting simultaneously. My unintended gymnastics landed me on the ground, now facing a zombie shuffling towards me. I scooted backwards, flailing with my newly made stone sword. Unfortunately, this backed me into a skeleton's line of sight, which promptly loosed an arrow into my side. After getting over my shock and pain, I took a few lucky swipes and both of the monsters disappeared into smoke. The zombie left some of its own rotting flesh, and the skeleton dropped a few bones and an arrow.

I got up and surveyed the area, checking for monsters. Once I decided I was safe for the moment, I examined the wound in my side. The arrow stuck out between my stomach and ribs, not having gone in too far, thankfully. I braced myself, and pulled it out. I gasped and staggered back a few steps before dropping the sword and arrow as a wave of pain racked my body. It passed quickly, however, leaving only a dull throb. Looking back at it, I was relieved to note the small amount of bleeding. Then I reached into my pack and pulled out the piece of leather from the cow I had killed. I tied it over the wound as a crude bandage, and got up. It was still dark, and monsters were spawning even more.

"SSSSssssSSSS…" went something behind me. I quickly turned and had just enough time to see an expanding green form before it exploded. I was thrown back a few blocks from the blast, weakened and helpless. The detonation of the creeper had drawn many monsters' attentions, and they slowly converged on me, seemingly sensing my weakness and fear. Just before I blacked out, I saw a girl yelling and running towards the monsters, swinging a blade like mine. My eyes closed, and I knew no more.

-{}-

I opened my eyes to a cobblestone ceiling. Groggy from the events of the night, I sat up. I looked around the room I was in, taking note of the biome outside. A harsh, white sunlight streamed in through the window. The ground outside was covered in soft, white snow. I wondered where I was when I remembered all of last night. My eyes widened when I remembered the girl who had attacked the monsters. _This must be her house!_ I realized. Just as this came to me, the door opened and she walked in.

"Good, you're awake. I don't want anyone dying in my house."

"Well, thanks for the warm welcome," I retorted. "Thank you, though. For saving me. "I said in a kinder tone.

She waved her hand, dismissing the subject. "It's alright; I was just out hunting for Endermen."

Not knowing what an Enderman was, I just studied her for a minute. She had long brown hair streaked with lighter shades and green-blue eyes with a hint of grey. She dressed simply, wearing only a shirt with a light blue jacket and grey jeans. A stone sword hung on her back, in a simple wood and leather scabbard.

"Is this your house?" I asked her. She explained it was, and all of her things were in another room. Apparently, her name was Marosfly. The room I was in was an extension she had built for me to stay in until I was better.

Right then I remembered the last part of BurningCrab's book. _Seek out others. _I figured now was as good time as any to begin recruiting.

"So. My name is Drake Diamond, and I am supposed to save the world from this dude called X. Do you want to help?" I asked, cringing at my bluntness.

"You are supposed to save the world from X? And HOW is that going to happen?" she said sarcastically.

At this point, I was getting annoyed with her. She hadn't greeted me very nicely and now this. My voice rising, I said, "I don't know! I just got dumped here by this BurningCrab guy and now he expects me to stop X! I didn't ask for this! I don't know… I just don't know how he thinks I can do this. I barely survived my first night here!"

I mellowed out a bit, noticing Marosfly looked rather alarmed. "I'm sorry. I'm just so frustrated about this whole thing. I am sorry if I scared you."

"No, no, that's not it. You say BurningCrab visited you? He's supposed to be a legend! X is definitely real, but BurningCrab himself…" She trailed off, shaking her head.

After a moment, Maro looked up and nodded. "Yes. I will come with you."

**A/N: So, we have an OC! Hurrah! This is Marosfly, sent in by Bluebird5555, my first reviewer. Say hello, Marosfly!**

**Maro: Hello, Marosfly!**

**Me: T_T Anyway, this chapter seems to be much better than the first, but that is only my opinion. I need YOU all to R&R so I can improve! Now, this is my debut story, so I apologize for any errors. Please people, give me OCs! This story needs more people other than Maro and Drake.**

**I can't think of anything else, so…**

**Crab Out! **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello like Jell-O, my friends! T_T Microsoft thinks "BurningCrab" is not a word. WELL IT IS YOU PEOPLE AT WINDOWS. Anywho, we have another chapter! Yippee! Also, I have only two reviews, both by Bluebird5555. Come on, people! I need moar reviews gimmegimmegimme… Sorry about that. Sometimes I think I am almost as schizophrenic as Flu... Almost. :D In other news, due to lack of OC submissions, I created two more characters myself. I'm quite proud of them, actually. But worry not, I am still accepting OCs. Now, read on…**

"…And I remember this time when a zombie scared me while I was mining and I punched it with a stone shovel!" Maro told me. We both laughed. We had become friendlier since she joined me.

After she agreed to come, we grabbed a few supplies and headed off. Marosfly had told me some things the book had not or been vague about, and I now felt somewhat educated about "Minecraftia." What I knew about this place was nothing compared to what she knew, though. Maro had hundreds of crafting, smelting, and brewing recipes locked in her head. We had been walking for a while, and she told me some interesting stories about her life here. Apparently, there were three large cities in the area, Imperialis Mons, Mirabile Civitatem, and Luce Splendida. Each had its own government, but they all were ruled over by King Ryntor Enthero. He was not a tyrant, but could be rather firm in some of his decisions.

I took this all in stride, and suggested that we head towards the nearest city to find more people to help us. Maro agreed, and said she knew someone named "Louis" in the city who would help us.

"Let's just pick up Louis, he is at… Imperialis Mons." She said, checking the map. With that we were off.

-{}-

A few hours later, she turned grinning. "Welcome to Imperialis Mons!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms apart.

I stepped back in amazement, taking in the grandeur of the city. It was situated on top of a mountain, with tall, thick walls of obsidian. I could see guard towers here and there, with holes for shooting arrows. Inside I could hear yelling and shouting, water running, and animals making their noises.

Maro laughed at my expression and beckoned, saying, "It gets better inside."

Still gawking, I followed her towards the large stone brick gate. She rapped on the gate impatiently. When no answer came, Maro shouted, "LOUIS! OPEN UP!"

After a minute, the gate creaked open, and a guy stood there. He had black hair that was very messy, hazel eyes, and wore a long maroon coat over a white T-shirt. His jeans had a hole in one knee and he wore simple black sneakers. He had a mischievous grin that seemed to say, "I might just prank you before the day is over…"

"Marosfly! Haven't see you in a while!" he exclaimed. "How has the loner's life been?"

"Fine, just fine," she said vaguely. "So, um, Louis. This is Drake. He was, erm, visited by, uh, BurningCrab. He said Drake had to stop, uh, X." She winced at the impossibility of what she had said.

"Ha! That's a good one, Maro. I didn't know you were so funny! I… uh… you, you, weren't joking, were you." He paled. "Oh, geez, you, but I, but, the… the…" He trailed off, apparently in shock.

Maro huffed in annoyance. "Yes, he has to stop X. Now, do you want to help us or not?"

Louis gazed off towards a pig in the distance. Then he snapped out of it. He shook his head to clear it, and his grin returned. "Yeah, I'll help you. Lemme just grab someone else, and we'll go, shall we?"

Maro rolled her eyes, but said yes and told him to meet us at the Fountain of Bricks. She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the city. "C'mon, let's go see the city!"

-{}-

An hour later, I had seen multiple shops and buildings, monuments and churches. My favorite was a temple to BurningCrab. Ever since he had spoken to me, I felt a personal connection to him. Maro was still pulling me, saying, "We haven't even seen the residential district yet!"

We headed towards the residential area, and what I saw took my breath away. Every house was unique, original, _personal._ The houses were each made of something different. Some were built of wood or stone, while others were made of iron blocks or gold. A few houses were made of a strange, flaming, red rock, with a glowing stone for light and purplish bricks as the walkway. Maro explained that those blocks were rare, made from Nether materials. Soon, we had to leave the interesting sector to find the Fountain of Bricks. We walked through the city, Maro leading the way, and I soon saw a pillar of brick with water flowing down the sides. Waving to us was Louis with another person I did not recognize. As we drew closer, Louis introduced him.

"Guys, this is Garor. He agreed to come, too."

I examined "Garor". He seemed pleasant enough, with bright blue eyes, reddish-blond hair, and a small half-smile. He wore a red and green shirt with a light orange jacket and black pants that obscured his shoes. His hands were in his pockets, and he was rather muscular and strong-looking. Louis told us he was a miner who looked for diamonds and redstone deep underground. At this, Maro's eyes lit up. She asked Garor if he had any redstone with him, and squealed excitedly when he procured about 30 or so piles of red dust from his pack and handed it over to her.

"What is that stuff, and what do you do with it?" I asked.

I immediately regretted asking when Marosfly launched into a long lecture on redstone, redstone repeaters, and other technical-sounding stuff that went over my head. She was still rambling on about piston clocks and daylight sensors when we left Imperialis Mons.

I just laughed, and enjoyed the sunset as we walked away from the glowing city.

-{}-

A little later, we saw a small hut by the side of the road. It was getting dark, and we could see monsters in some places where the light of the street did not reach. Although we were safe on the road, Maro's map- which she now had memorized- said it ended soon. We argued about trying to see if we could stay, until Garor held his hands up and said, "GUYS!"

We all fell silent, looking at him uneasily. He lowered his hands and sighed. "Sorry, I just was getting annoyed listening to you bicker. I will go see if anyone is home and if they'll let us stay."

He then walked towards the shack and knocked on the door a few times. A small, squeaky voice called out, "One minute!"

There was a loud crash, and the door opened. A short old lady stood there, looking up at us. She looked like someone's kindly old grandmother. She smiled when she saw us, saying, "Well aren't you just the sweetest! Come in and let Granny Patel take care of you."

She then proceeded to march us inside, sit us down, and plunk some buckets of milk and a plate of cookies in front of us. As the rest of us dug in, Louis explained our situation and asked if we could stay the night.

"Why of course you can! I am here alone, and would be _delighted_ to have a little company, even if it is only one night." She turned and looked right at me, and for a second her eyes flared with hate. I jumped, and looked around to see if my friends had seen it, but they were talking about sleeping arrangements. "Isn't that right now, Drake?" she asked.

I was worried now, because of what had happened and the fact I was sure we had not told her my name, but my whispered warnings to my friends were waved away.

"She's just a harmless old lady! What could possibly go wrong?" they chuckled.

I was about to find out that quite a bit could go wrong.

**A/N: So, chapter 3 is up! I spent quite a while on this, and of course, I HAD to leave a cliffhanger. But fear not my readers! (Or maybe just singular reader. D: ) The next chapter will be up tomorrow or Sunday! I have no idea which! Please R&R and give me more OCs!**

**For now though…**

**Crab Out!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi there again, peoples! It is I, BurningCrab, with yet another chapter of Journey! Now, I just got two more OC submissions, which may or may not appear this chapter. If you would like to submit another OC, feel free. I will try to incorporate your character, but no promises. Anywho, it makes me happy knowing that people are reading. If you know anyone else on this site, tell them to read this.**

**Question time!**

**To Drake and Maro: Why are you being mean to each other? **

**Drake: Ummm, I don't know, I woke up and she came in with some sarcastic remark. I guess I could have been nicer too… but we are friends now.**

**Maro: Agreed.**

**Now R&R and read this chapter!**

I woke up, not sure why, but I had the feeling something was wrong. I glanced around the room, taking note of everyone sleeping deeply. I lay back down again, disturbed, and tried to go back to sleep. Just then, the door creaked open. I stayed perfectly still, not moving an inch. Granny Patel tiptoed in, making next to no noise. I lay there frozen, wondering why she was here. Suddenly, she whipped out a glowing diamond blade that illuminated the room. She sprang over and stabbed it down into Garor's chest. He screamed, and fell limp, gurgling like a zombie. Everyone immediately woke up, and while Maro and I grabbed our stone swords, Louis ran over to Garor's thrashing form.

Granny Patel cursed and turned to us. She grinned evilly, and _changed._ The kind old lady morphed into a tall man wearing a suit, andstill smiling at us, he grinned again and said, "Hello, Drake. I knew I would find you. Now, do you want to fight _me_?"

Maro whimpered, whispering in my ear, "That's… that's… _X_!"

My eyes widened, but I stepped forward. "Yes. One-on one, unless you're too scared." I spat out.

He laughed, dropping his glowing sword and spreading his arms. "Very well. Give me everything you've got."

With a yell, I stupidly charged the most powerful man in Minecraftia. I swung my sword towards his head, but he disappeared in a puff of black smoke. I circled warily, my sword out. I heard the same poofing sound behind me, and tried to turn. I was too late. X kicked me, and I went flying. I blasted through the wall and out onto the street. I heard screaming and the clang of metal on metal, and I passed out.

-{}-

My eyes opened, and I wondered where I was. I glanced around. I was relieved to see Maro and Louis next to me, Maro keeping watch, Louis snoring away. Then what had happened came back to me. "Louis! Maro! Where's Garor? What happened to X?"

Louis sprang up, his eyes darting around. When he saw me, he relaxed. "Garor… he… didn't make it," he said, getting choked up. "We fought him together, but he just disappeared. Garor said we had to find someone… someone else."

I felt terrible for them both, and sad about Garor. I hadn't really known him that well, but it was hard losing him. I thought for a while, and then stood, a steely glint in my eye. Maro looked away from her guard duty, and asked me, "What are we doing? Where are we going?"

I looked at her. "What are we going to do?"

"We are going to find X. And when we find him, I will _kill_ him."

-{}-

"Master?"

"WHAT? WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT?"

"I am deeply and humbly sorry, Master. I was simply going to inquire… is Drake dead?"

A lightning bolt leapt out of the darkness, reducing the zombie servant to dust.

"Do not ask me about Drake again, you fools!"

The assembled monsters nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, Master."

"Of course, Master."

A man walked forward, out of the dark. "I am X. And I will _kill_ Drake Diamond. He will rue the day he tried to save this rotten world."

X turned and looked out at the sky. "Yes. Drake, watch your back, or you may just find a knife in it."

-{}-

Hours later, and we still were walking. Maro had said she would take us to Luce Splendida. It was the closest of the three cities to the origin of X's attacks, and we had agreed that there was a good place to start. There was also a good chance that we could find someone to help us there. We could see the lights in the distance, far outshining the torch Maro held to ward off the mobs. She still remembered every detail of the map, and told us to "turn here" or "follow this path". As we walked, Louis shared some choice moments from his childhood in Imperialis Mons- namely, the pranks he had pulled on people.

"And one time I made this old man think I had blown up his minecart!" he told us with a laugh. "Man, I got him good."

"Hey!" Marosfly interrupted.

We looked at her. She pointed ahead and said, "We're here."

-{}-

We gazed up at the city in awe. The entire city was covered in glowstone, redstone lamps, and jack-o-lanterns. The light was overwhelming, outshining the moon and stars and making the sky bright in the middle of the night. There was no gate, and we could see people walking around or standing and talking. The whole city seemed peaceful, serene, and quiet. No one fought or argued, and everything was free. In fact, there did not seem to be any kind of monetary system at all. It was as though Luce Splendida was its own little world, hidden away from society.

An old man walked up to us. "Welcome to Luce Splendida. Make yourself at home, for that is where you are!" he said dreamily, and walked away, smiling.

"This place is amazing… I've never seen anything like it!" exclaimed Maro, looking around at all of the lights and people getting along.

Louis and I murmured our assent, and we just sort of walked around the city. Every now and then, I would stop and ask someone about fights with X, but they just said, "There is never conflict in Luce Splendida."

Maro leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I don't like this place. Something feels wrong."

I agreed, and was about to tell her so, when a hand reached out of an alley and beckoned. "C'mere! This is important!"

I was worried, but slipped into the alley, Louis and Maro behind me. We followed the mysterious person, weaving through side streets and alleys, until we came to a stop and I could see the person we were following.

It turned out to be a boy and a girl. The boy was nice enough, with blond hair and blue eyes, a cheeky grin like Louis, and a red T-shirt with jeans. The girl wore a brown sweater that matched her eyes and black pants. She had reddish-brown hair and a fire in her eyes- the kind that made you glad she wasn't your enemy.

"Who are you, and what do you want with us?" Louis demanded.

"I'm Kyle DeMarco, this is Kitty Connors." He replied, twirling an arrow between his fingers. "And we're the only sane people in this city."

**A/N: Ooo… we have a cliffhanger (again)! This chapter was full of action and stuffs, and I did end up introducing Kyle, by SnowGlaceon, and Kitty Connors, by Kitty and Furry the mysterious guest reviewer. I had to make up their appearances, as neither of you gave me theirs, and I could also use more personality info. Anywho, I just want to say I am sorry for not posting yesterday, I was really busy with- stuff. Yeah. This chapter is my favorite so far! And yes, Bluebird, it turned out "Granny What's-her-face" WAS evil. Really, REALLY evil. T_T Well, thanks again for reading and reviewing, and don't forget to stay tuned!**

**Crab Out!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: OMG TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY! I have decided to post one more chapter due to my lack of posts on Saturday. And in response to Bluebird5555, the city isn't evil they just… actually, read the chapter to find out.**

"The only sane people in the city? What do you mean?" I asked, thoroughly confused.

"I mean", continued Kyle, "Everyone else is under X's control."

Kitty picked up. "X had one of his witches cast a spell on the people of Luce Splendida so they mine resources and recruit mobs for his army. The worst part is that they don't remember what they do."

Maro's mouth was in a perfect O. "But- but- but that's horrible? How can he do that?"

"I agree." said Louis defiantly. Kyle gave him a piercing stare, and he shrunk backward a bit. "This is X. He has no morals, no sorrow and no regret. He doesn't care in the least about hypnotizing an entire city."

"You say the people mine resources?" I asked suddenly.

Now it was Kyle's turn to be confused. "Yes, but why? What are you planning?"

I turned away, smiling ever so slightly. "Me? No, Kyle. It is _we_ who are going to do this. _We_ are going to join these people."

I faced them again, looking at Kyle, Kitty, Maro, and Louis. "After all, how else will we get a few diamonds for our trip?"

-{}-

My plan was simple and insane. We would go accompany the citizens to the mine, pretending to be hypnotized. There we would mine with the rest of the people until we hit diamonds. Once the call to return to the surface came, we would follow everyone else, break off from the group, and meet back in the alley.

I knew it was risky, foolish, and likely to get one or more of us captured.

I didn't care. Mining was in our blood. _Surviving_ was in our blood. And we were determined to survive.

That night, the three-note noteblock chime rang, and every citizen within range of the mine simultaneously woke, took a pickaxe from a chest, and shuffled into the mine. Maro, Kitty, Kyle, Louis, and I were split up to attract less attention. I was last, and as I ambled with the other civilians, imitating their movements, I saw a creeper perched on a raised wooden platform. It had a strange blue glow around it I had never seen before. He was barking orders at the people. "You there! Get yer rear ends into tha mine! And you! Swing that pickaxe harder! Diamonds aren't gonna collect themselves!"

He sneered at all of them, until his gaze rested on me. I stared blankly ahead, trying not to panic. Just as the creeper was going to say something, a skeleton called from a different area, "Oy! Demens, we need an explosion! Someone hit obby and no one's got a diamond pick!" Demens growled and walked over to the troublesome obsidian block.

I breathed a sigh of relief and entered the mine.

-{}-

I had made good progress in the mine, having found about 50 coal, 30 iron, 12 gold, heaps of redstone, and two diamonds. I was laboriously chipping away at stone blocks with a dented stone pickaxe when the same sound _ding, ding, dongggg…_ came from the entrance to the mine. I slowly turned and stowed the two diamonds in a compartment of my backpack along with some redstone. The rest I left to give to X's minions, though the idea of giving resources to the enemy made me want to jump into the Void. I jogged back down the corridor I had dug out, merging with the other townspeople walking in from their branches of the mine. Some people seemed to be luckier than others, carrying more diamonds or some prized emeralds. I dutifully handed off my coal, iron, gold, and remaining redstone to the spider jockey guard at the door. My face was blank as I trudged up the stairs and out into the brightly lit city. I waited until the zombies on patrol went around the corner, and slipped away, into the maze of streets with names like "Glowstone Drive" or "Mycelium Way." I soon arrived at Dirt Lane, a shoddy little street with run-down houses and many cramped people. From there, I slipped into a side street, and there stood Kyle, Louis, Kitty, and Maro. I handed some redstone to Maro, saying, "I thought you could make some traps or dispensers or something."

Maro beamed as she stowed the red piles of dust in her pack. Then she looked at me and laughed. "What? What did I do?" I sputtered.

"You have coal dust and bits of stone all over you!" she said between chuckles. "You look like a stone golem or something!"

I grumbled to myself as I went over to the well to wash myself. I leaned over the clear blue water and splashed some on my face in an effort to clean the grime off. I finished and stopped, staring at my slightly rippling reflection. I realized that I had never actually figured out what I looked like. Waiting for the water to become still, I examined myself. I had piercing green eyes with jet-black hair. My skin was slightly tanned, and there was a faint bruise on my left cheek- a reminder of our fight with X. I stepped back to check out my clothes. I wore a red shirt and green wool jacket with a hood. My pants were as black as my hair, and my sneakers were white and had red highlights.

_Not bad,_ I thought admiring myself. That was when I heard the "Schee-oo!" of spiders and sprinted back to the alley.

-{}-

I arrived back there to find Kyle messing with some gold ingots from his pack and Kitty talking to Maro about redstone comparators. Louis was reading some book on a legendary 'Sima Herdrath'. "Guys," I said to get their attention. "Did anyone find diamonds?"

Maro grimaced and pulled out a single blue gem, tossing it towards Kyle. He caught it and stowed it in his pack. Kitty also procured one diamond and handed it to him. I pulled out my two, and looked at Louis. He frowned and said, "Nothing. Not one blasted diamond."

I winced in sympathy and asked Kyle about his haul. He grinned, pulling out six diamonds, plus our four. "Ten altogether! We can make diamond swords for each of us, and later I can enchant them."

Maro's eyes widened. "You have an _enchanting table_?" she asked in reverence.

"Yep. But the cool part is that I can read the glyphs on the table. I can choose the best enchantment for a sword, pickaxe, book, whatever." He winked at me and handed me all 10. "These'll be safer with you, chief."

I laughed. "Well then. We have diamonds, redstone stuff, and an enchanter. Let's get going, shall we?"

With that, we walked out of the alley. Maro had the sharpest hearing, so she led. Kyle followed with his bow out. Kitty, Louis, and I brought up the rear with our swords out. Maro stiffened. "Skeleton trio coming our way!" she whisper-shouted.

"Get down!" hissed Kyle. We all hit the ground as Kyle whipped out his bow. For the first time, I noticed a purple glow coming from it. He appeared to pluck an arrow out of the air and loaded his bow. I paid attention to the surrounding area, though, and soon I heard two skeletons laughing at a third as he sung some weird song about TNT. "There must be something I can cra-a-a-aft… to ease the burden of this ta-a-a-ask!"

As they rounded the corner, one of them noticed Kyle standing in the street. "Hey! Why aren't you in your house?" one yelled.

"Personal reasons." Kyle grunted, and shot all three skeletons faster than I could blink.

He turned back to us. Winking he said, "Infinity enchantment. Now, let's go!"

We snuck out of the city without further problems, and headed off towards the rising sun, leaving the glowing city of Luce Splendida. I turned and looked at the bright lights emanating from the metropolis, and swore to myself that we would fix the people's minds. No longer would they be forced to labor for X. Never again would X enslave a whole city. _Never again_, I thought.

**A/N: Hooray! Drake knows what he looks like! I was proofreading my other chapters, and I realized I had never really described Drake. But now we know!**

**In other news, I may not be able to update every day. I am churning these things out as fast as I can while still making it good. Just thought you should know. I also want to thank BlueBird5555 for being with me since the start. Kitty the mysterious guest reviewer (I decree that to be your name) and SnowGlaceon, thanks for the character appearances. I fixed those in the other chapter.**

**Crab Out!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi there, readers! I am BurningCrab, as you know, and I am back with another chapter of Journey! Announcements will be at the end of the chapter.**

In the Aether, a heated discussion was taking place.

"I'm sorry, Crab. It just isn't allowed. You bent the rules with the book, but this is going too far." said a man with a fedora and reddish hair.

"Notch, all I want is to talk to him in a dream. I know you did the same thing centuries ago for that Alex Glowstone! He needs to know some things! He-"

"Crab, just chill out and think for a minute. You are going to reveal one of the most closely guarded secrets in all of Minecraftia to a sixteen-year-old who has no clue what he is doing? Are you mad?" interrupted a new man.

"Stay out of this, Ant. You only came here a few centuries ago. I have been here for six millennia. Do not get involved," fired back BurningCrab.

"And I have been here for eight, Crab. You cannot send a message to Drake, or Maro, or Louis, or ANYONE else. Just let it go, okay?" said Notch gently.

"Fine, fine, I understand." Crab grudgingly agreed.

-{}-

We had walked for a while, and I was getting bored. I started thinking of ways we could stop for a while, when I remembered what Kyle had said. "Hey, Kyle, do you think you could do the enchantments on our sword now?" I asked.

He looked at me and smiled, seeming to know why I had asked him. "Yeah, sure I can. It might take a while, though."

We stopped walking and gathered as Kyle took off his pack and took out a pile of miniaturized bookshelves and chucked them down in a square. Once he had plunked each one down, he grabbed a purple table with diamond-encrusted corners. When he placed it in the center of the bookshelves, a floating book opened and strange symbols I had never seen before floated into it. Kyle then asked for our swords and received five diamond blades. He put them down and pulled out his own. He turned back to us and said, "These glyphs are in Ancient Minecraftian, a language first developed by two heroes, Captain J. Sparklez and Sky R. S. the Kid, founder of the Sky Army. I've spent my whole life learning to read it."

He then faced the magical table and breathed in deeply. When he opened his eyes again, they were bright green. He placed the first sword in a small slot under the book, and it shrunk down to backpack size. The zipping little letters went haywire, flying double-time into the book as the pages fluttered frantically. He told us, "Everyone has this stuff called _experience_. We get it by killing mobs, mining ores, and some other stuff. When you gave me your swords, it transferred all of your experience levels to me so I could enchant these babies. You need to be very quiet for the next few minutes- I need to concentrate."

The sword seemed to almost be glowing like Kyle's bow, and I stepped back a bit in case something went wrong. Kyle bent over the book and began dreamily murmuring words that made no sense to me, but were most likely different enchantments. "Bane of Arthropods, no… Looting, no… Ah, Fire Aspect!" He raised his hand, which now was encased in a yellow-green aura, and slammed it down on the sword. I felt a wave of power rock the woods, and stumbled a bit. When I looked up, Kyle held a sword, grinning. It didn't look different, but then he angled it. I could see a glimmer on the blade that had not been there before. Engraved on the grip were the words, "Fire Aspect II".

He placed it down on the other side, and picked up the next sword. Kyle slot the sword into the table and flicked through the pages. "Hmm… how about… Knockback two? Yeah, that should be good." He lifted his hand, threw it down on the blade, and the same shockwave blasted through us. This sword was also glowing with a purple shimmer, but had different words carved into it: Knockback II. He placed it in the pile and picked up the next two.

His hands started moving faster than I could follow, and I only heard unintelligible phrases like, "Smite III, that's pretty good." Or "I guess one could have Looting…"

Finally, he picked up the sword on the bottom. It fit into its space, and the book wiggled. He read a few words of the strange language, and his jaw dropped. "That's unheard of! A level twenty enchantment… wow." He shook his head, and raised his hand. A maelstrom of green energy gathered around his hand for a fifth time, and he struck the diamond blade. He picked it up and handed it to me. "Here… you go, mate… Sharpness… V." he said, out of breath. "Now, if you'll excuse me… goodnight."

And with that, he passed out.

-{}-

"Dang, Kyle, you're heavy!" Maro grunted.

She and I had Kyle supported between us on a crude stretcher that was really a boat with the sides broken off. We had placed a few wool blocks on top.

The poor dude had spent a lot of energy enchanting those swords. I was grateful, but also guilty. I had asked him to enchant them, and I worried that it had hurt him.

"Aw, geez, is he gonna be like this much longer?" Maro asked no one in particular, hoisting her end of the boat-bed higher. "This is getting old."

Just then, Kyle coughed. We set the bed thing down and looked at him anxiously. He coughed again, and moved. He opened his eyes and sat up weakly. "Did you guys test the swords yet?" he asked in a strained voice. "They are pretty cool, I have to admit."

Louis, Kitty, Maro, and I shared a glance. "No, not yet," I answered hesitantly. "We were mostly concerned with keeping you from dying."

Kyle laughed at my sarcasm and stood up. He staggered a bit, but held his footing. "I'm fine now. Come here, the swords have great enchantments."

He walked over to a part of the plains that had some animals. I asked Louis for the swords, which he had stored, and passed them on to Kyle. He picked up the first, which I saw was the one with Fire Aspect. He winked at Kitty and walked up to a cow. With one whack, he sent it flying. What was more impressive was the cow caught on fire and ran in circles, burning, until it MOOed and dropped some steak. Kitty ran up and grabbed the sword. "She's a bit of a pyromaniac," Kyle told me.

"This next one has Knockback II. It can be obnoxious, but also useful against creepers," he told us. Walking up to the next poor cow, he hit it. Now, he hadn't hit the creature very hard, but it went flying, four, seven, ten blocks back. "Anyone want this one?" He asked. "I'll take it then. I'm better with a bow anyway, so this will make stuff easier to shoot."

Next up was the "Looting" sword. Kyle killed another cow, and instead of giving two or three beef, it gave five. Maro's eyes shone when Kyle handed it to her. "It gives extra items from anything it kills," Kyle told her.

"Perfect, considering I am something of a hoarder," she laughed.

Kyle picked up the fourth sword and told us it did extra damage to undead monsters. Louis took that one.

Finally was mine. "I have never seen Sharpness V, in my whole life." Kyle said reverently. "This is for you."

I examined it. The purple glow pulsed off of the aquamarine blade, giving it a godly look. The words "Sharpness V" were inscribed on the hilt in fancy script.

We were ready. _I _was ready.

**A/N: Woo! Got it done in only… three days! Sorry for the wait… -_- In other news, I need OCs!**

**That's really all, so…**

**Crab Out!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hello y'all! It is BurningCrab with Chapter 7 of Journey. I will still be putting announcements and stuff at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!**

I woke up. I saw only whiteness, felt nothing, and knew where I was. I was in the void that had dumped me here, the place where I had talked to BurningCrab. Remembering this, I called out. "BurningCrab! Where are you? Why am I here again!?"

Suddenly, I heard that strange, artificial voice. "Entering the Aether…"

I passed out again.

-{}-

My eyes opened. I sat up to take note of my surroundings. There was a pale green grass with majestic trees of gold growing, and creatures that resembled cows and pigs, but with wings. A reddish carved stone tunnel led into a chamber. There sat a man in a simple blue shirt with red jeans. He had windswept hair and brown eyes. "Hello, Drake," the man said. "Come and sit, we have quite a bit to discuss. And in a rather short amount of time, too."

"Who- who are you?" I asked the stranger, thinking I already knew the answer.

"I am BurningCrab. You are dreaming now, and I should not be contacting you. But there are things you must know. Two people are heading towards your camp now. Do not worry, they mean you no harm," he said, waving away my anxious expression.

"They will join you, and they will help you. There are things you must do before you fight X, however. Many dangerous things…" He trailed off, lost in thought.

"Umm… Crab? Time limit here?" I reminded him.

"Ah, yes, the Eyes. The Eyes of Ender are crucial. They are scattered throughout the dimensions. Four are in the Nether, four are here in the Aether, and four are hidden in your world- the Overworld."

"What do I do with them? Where are they? What do they do?" I blurted, questions falling from my mouth like sand off a cliff.

He chuckled. "All in good time, my friend. These will be required for your trip to the Nether. Be warned- it is a living hell, full of fire and lava. Strange abominations live there, creatures that were never meant to be created." He handed me fourteen purple blocks which I recognized as obsidian.

"What do I do with these? And the Eyes, what are they for?"

"The obsidian is for the portal. Ask Marosfly about Nether portals, she knows how they are made. As for the Eyes, well, let's see. Once you have all twelve, gather them. Throw one up in the air, and follow it. When it stops, dig down. There will be a portal frame there, guarded by silverfish. Insert the Eyes into the frame, and travel to the End. This is where X and his minions reside."

My dream _fuzzed _then, as though I was seeing Crab through a broken window. "Blast it! Notch found out what I was doing!" He looked at a strange instrument. "And there are monsters coming to your camp! I must go, Drake. Good luck to you all."

With that, he disappeared. I keeled over backwards and knew no more.

-{}-

I sat bolt upright, gasping. I looked around, confused as to why I was worried and panting, when I remembered the dream. "Guys wake up now! We need to go! Monsters are on their way!"

They woke up quickly, some, like Louis, reacting quickly and pulling out their swords. Maro and Kyle were rather lethargic, and required shaking to fully awaken.

We quickly ran out of the lit-up cave we had been sleeping in, and sure enough, I heard zombies' snarls, skeletons' clatter, and spiders' screeches. A few creeper hisses and Enderman _zzt_s could be heard also. What chilled me the most was the fact that they were very close.

From behind us came the sound of leaves being pushed aside and frantic running. Maro, Louis, Kitty, and I went back-to-back, circling slowly. Two people burst out of the woods, breathing heavily. "Friend or foe?" I inquired, holding my sword to the neck of the older one.

"Stop, we're…friends… put the sword… down. Oh geez, they're… coming. Get out… while you can…" the boy said as he put his hands on his knees and took short, gasping breaths.

I stepped back and lowered my sword. I took a few seconds to examine the newcomers. The older boy had very light hair and eyes that looked like the midnight sky. He wore a black shirt and blue jeans. The younger boy had the same hair and eyes, but was clothed in a green shirt with a picture of a pickaxe on it and brown pants. "Who are you?" I asked warily.

"I'm… Murray, this… is Hunter." Murray said as he gestured to himself, then the younger boy.

"Alright, come with us. For now, we can protect you guys. Later we need to talk. The monster armies are coming, so take out any weapons you have and get ready to fight." Louis interrupted.

They nodded and pulled out their respective weapons- Murray had an iron sword, and Hunter grabbed some bottles with different colored liquids. I recognized them as various splash potions. We looked at all of the approaching monsters and prepared to fight. A small green shape hopped out of the woods, which Hunter picked up and put in his pack. I glanced at his brother, doubtful. Murray told me that he had a pet slime, and I nodded and turned back to the army.

I took a deep breath and ran. The creepers and spiders welcomed me, and as I cut them down, I saw Kyle shooting his bow, Maro and Louis swinging their swords, and Kitty punching a zombie into Murray's blade. Hunter threw a few pink and purplish potions at creepers and skeletons that came too close. He seemed terrified, which I understood. The kid couldn't have been more than eight.

A creeper ran towards me and started swelling, primed to explode. I ducked under a skeleton's arrow and stabbed it in the head. It dropped down as I twisted to meet a spider leaping towards my throat. Zombies were not an issue, more of an annoyance. Skeletons were a bit more of a problem because I could not charge them, and spiders jumped around, trying to bite my neck. Creepers blew up, obviously, and teleporting endermen forced me to keep my gaze level.

A scream issued from behind me. I whirled around in time to see Murray sink to the ground with an enderman's claw in his chest. He hacked at the creature, causing it to let out a screech, but it teleported away, leaving him at the monsters' mercy. He vanished from view under a horde of zombies.

"NO!" I shouted. Every monster within twenty blocks looked up at me. I had barely known Murray, but I felt like I had lost a close friend.

Something powerful stirred inside me. I felt it rising up, gathering in my hands. I looked down and saw my hands glowing with a bright blue aura. I was scared and angry, and I wanted revenge. I let loose a yell that ripped my throat raw, and a wave of power racked my body. A blue light blossomed like a flower around me, and then expanded, roaring through the plains and disintegrating every monster into dust.

I sank to the ground, and was dimly aware of Kyle and Louis running towards me with Maro and Kitty, Maro holding Hunter's hand. The little boy was crying over his elder brother. Kyle reached me first, and I saw his lips moving. I was unaware of what he was saying, even though I saw his lips moving.

I was so… tired… just wanted… to… sleep…

My eyes closed, and I knew no more.

**A/N: Chapter Seven FTW! Cliffhangers are awesome, which is why I used one here… and in mostly every other chapter. Anywho, I feel excited about the next few chapters because *Removed due to spoilers* Ha-ha, but really, I have some interesting ideas… I also need one more OC, so if possible review with the description and personality. Hunter is so cute in my mind. BTW, Hunter and Murray were made by me and one of my friends. That's all, so…**

**Crab Out!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Heyo, readers! It is BurningCrab with Chapter 8! Announcements will be at end of chapter.**

I woke to the sound of water lapping at the shore. "Urrrgghhh… Where am I?" I groaned.

"You are everywhere and nowhere. You are burning in the flames of the Nether and flying through the Aerclouds in the Aether. You are one with the universe as the universe is one with you. Welcome, Drake Diamond. Welcome to the Land of the Lost." The voice rang out from nowhere, and I realized it was in my head.

This baffled me. "What do you mean? The Land of the Lost, that's like, what, the afterlife? Is this a joke?"

"No, there is no joke. You should be dead, but yet you live. You should be up in the Aether, but yet you are here, in the void that is between life and death. This world presents itself as a version of the 'Overworld' you are accustomed to because we- the beings of the universe- live on a level you cannot imagine. Now listen closely. These next few minutes will be the most important ones of your life.

"You were not originally from Minecraftia. None of you were. The world you came from was called Earth. Earth is a world that is like and different to this one. There, everything is not made of blocks. There, technology has progressed much farther than redstone circuits and minecart tracks. Earth was the planet you came from. On Earth, this world of yours- Minecraftia- is merely a game. They do not know of the reality behind the screen they watch us from. They think we are not real, that we simply are fake, imaginative avatars. They find death to be a setback in this game of theirs, not the life-reaping tragedy it is here."

At this, the voice seemed to smile. "Now you can go and prove them wrong. Show them that this is not all a game. We will send you back to your friends, but be warned. There is a traitor in your midst, one who seeks to bring down your group from within. We know not who the betrayer is, only that they will strike when you least expect it."

I imagined Kyle, who had worked so hard to enchant our swords, and Maro, who had first saved me. I thought of Louis, who had never let us down, Kitty, who fought like a maniac at her own risk. And little Hunter, who just lost his brother, a traitor? I could not imagine any of them turning on the rest of us.

"No! Wait, please tell me. Wh- what can I call you?" I asked the disembodied voice.

It gave a mental laugh. "Call me Daemos."

Then my eyes rolled back in my head, and I knew no more.

-{}-

"…Drake! DRAKE!"

"Whaa-?" I asked.

"Oh thank Notch, you're alive. I was worried you had died." Maro sat back, apparently satisfied that I had not killed myself.

"But what happened? I remember… Murray died, and then… light. What was that…?"

Louis and Maro glanced at each other. "You like, yelled, and then this huge, like, blast of… something vaporized the monsters." Louis explained oh-so-eloquently.

"Wow. That's… wow."

"Yeah, it was… weird."

We sat there awkwardly for a minute, until I said, "So, I had a dream while I was passed out or whatever."

Maro was intrigued. "Was it BurningCrab?"

"No, it was this guy named Daemos. He said some… interesting stuff."

"Such as…?" she prompted me.

I took a deep breath. "Apparently we are all from another place called Earth, where they are super-advanced and they think this is just a stupid game. And… one of you is a traitor, but I… don't believe that part. You guys, you wouldn't betray us… right?"

They all nodded in affirmation, then Hunter piped up. "Yeah, I remember Earth! My mommy and daddy and… Murray." He looked down when he remembered what had happened to Murray. "I miss them… I wanna go home."

Kyle put his arm around Hunter's shoulder. "It's ok, bud. We're your family now. And we'll get you home real soon."

Louis turned to me. "Now where do we go, chief? Those mobs won't be bugging us anymore, so we should probably get going to… wherever."

I surveyed our rag-tag group. "Absolutely right, Louis, we do need to go. I think we should head to the Nether first. Crab gave me these." I held out the fourteen glassy obsidian blocks. "Maro, how do we make a Nether portal?"

Her eyes widened as she said, "That place is horrible! Are you sure you want to go there?"

"Yes. Crab told me we need to go to the Nether. I know that every second we waste here is another life taken by X. Now, how is a Nether portal made?"

"Okay… you need to put them like so…" She arranged the blocks in a rectangle. It was 4 blocks wide by 5 blocks tall, and the black-purple sheen made it seem mystical.

"Blast…" Maro said as she rummaged through her backpack. "Anyone got a flint and steel?"

"Ooo! Memememe!" Kitty pawed through her pack and pulled out a small depiction of a firestarter. She handed it to a somewhat dubious Marosfly.

Maro faced the portal and said, "Here we go…" Then she drew back the iron bit of the small lighter and flicked it very gently. A single spark appeared and floated through the air. It drew closer to the portal frame and stopped, seeming to think about whether it wanted to take us to the Nether. Then it sank towards the purple obsidian. As soon as it touched down, a deathly scream rang out. Hunter started to quiver, and no wonder. I was scared too; that scream did not sound human.

The spark expanded, turning a lighter shade of purple and filling the two-by-three interior of the portal. It roiled around like it wanted desperately to escape, and more of the screaming sounds emanated from it, mixed with the sounds of water dripping and zombies' moans.

"Who… erm, who wants to go first?" I ventured, not looking forward to the prospect of actually going into the thing.

"I will! Pleeeease? Pleasepleaseplease?" At this point I was more than a bit worried about Kitty. Nevertheless, I agreed, and without a second thought, she dove into the strange, otherworldly substance.

"I should probably go next to make sure she doesn't get killed…" Kyle grudgingly volunteered. He hopped in and disappeared with a _floomp_. Louis just looked down at little Hunter and nodded. Then he stepped in, holding Hunter's hand, and they vanished too.

By this point, it was just me and Maro. I looked at her. "Ladies first?" I offered.

She rolled her eyes and jumped into the portal. I smiled faintly at the fact that she had actually gone when after all, I was being sarcastic.

I walked toward the doorway to hell, but stopped. I turned and surveyed the world around me. There were various types of cuboid trees in the distance, and a few shell-shocked pigs and chickens wandering around in the plains. The terrain was very uneven, due to my… explosion. Bits of grass and dirt had been completely blown away.

The portal gave a loud screech, as though it was demanding that I go and look for the "Eyes of Ender." I sighed, turned, and faced the portal once more. I steeled myself, resolute that I would face whatever was on the other end of that rip in the world.

I took a deep breath and entered hell.

**A/N: OMG I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING FOREVER! ;A; Bleah, I hate writer's block. So… yeah. This is mostly just a filler chapter, aside from that mysterious beginning… Also, I am having another OC contest. Whoever is picked will be featured in chapter 9. And to whoever made "TFAVelocity aka Tyler" I am sorry, but I just could not find a way to incorporate them into Journey. Sorry 'bout that.**

**I also have a community called "Golden Pickaxe" for underappreciated stories/writers. You know, because gold tools are really fast but seen as useless due to their durability? Like that… I guess. If you have a story you want to add, let me know and I will look into it.**

**Crab Out!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Question: What do you get if you cross a computer virus, two months without internet, and a severe case of writer's block-itis?**

**Answer: This. A million apologies for taking **_**soooo**_** long to update…**

"Gaaah!"

The feeling as the portal swirled around me was bizarre, but not necessarily painful. My view was purple and translucent, letting me watch as the sky turned red and the green grass became a bloody, crimson rock.

Then the portal spat me out like a bad apple and onto Maro.

"Oof! Get off, Drake!" Marosfly protested, her voice somewhat muffled. I quickly got off her. She stood up, groaning at the sight of mud on her shirt.

"Draaaake! This was my best shirt!" She frantically tried to brush off the brown goop, but to no avail. "This will take_ forever _to get off…"

I chuckled at her reaction. That was when someone tapped me on the side. I looked around, then down, and saw Hunter there, tugging on my shirt. He looked up at me, wide-eyed. "Drake? I don't like this place."

The place was a nightmare. The whole world was one big cave made out of the same red rock, and lava and fire were everywhere. The Nether was sweltering, hotter than the lava I had seen while mining in Luce Splendida. Strange animals that looked like an unholy mix of pigs, zombies, and skeletons roamed the land carrying gold swords. In the distance I saw a dark purple structure. That was most likely our destination.

Louis jumped in. "Hey Hunter, ever hear the poem 'Sunstruck' by the famous poet Flu?"

"Oh yeah! That was one of my favorites!"

"Well, if you get scared, just remember that poem. We'll get back to the sun soon, I promise."

Hunter nodded and placed his… pet slime… in his pack. "I wanna make sure Seep is safe."

_Seep?_ I thought to myself. I ignored the strange name.

"Where do we go now? I wanna go to that big purple thingie Pleasepleaseplease?"

"Kitty, were you eating cake again?" asked Kyle. "You know what sugar does to you."

Hunter looked at Kitty. "She can't have sugar? I shouldn't have given her that speed potion!"

"Speed potion?" Louis asked. "Those are brewed with… riiiight… sugar." We all stared at Kitty. She looked back at us. I noticed a tic in one of her eyes.

"Sooo, Maro, that's called a 'Nether fortress?'"

"Yup."

I led the way down the cliff, stepping around pools of lava and extinguishing flaming netherrack, as Maro told me it was called.

We were walking along a flat area of land when I heard a screech. "Ghast! Get down!"

We all ducked as an arrow flew over my head and deflected a flaming ball that would have broiled us into crispy little wolf treats.

"Kyle?" Maro asked. "Was that you?" He shook his head.

A new voice called from our left. "You guys alright?"

I slowly got up, brushing cinders off my clothes. Everyone else did the same, groaning. I was about to ask who our savior was when-

"DRAKE! GET OVER HERE!" Louis sounded terrified.

I ran over, Maro, Kyle, and Kitty on my heels. "Oh no…" Marosfly gasped.

"Louie?" Hunter whimpered. "Am I gonna be okay?"

Hunter had a sharp piece of netherrack in his stomach, most likely from the explosion. He was holding it tight, but I could see red between his fingers. He coughed and spat up more blood.

"Yeah, you're gonna be fine. We'll… get you to your brother. It'll… be great there." Louis was crying now, as were the rest of us.

Hunter said, "Will you guys be there?"

"Maybe sometime… maybe soon." Kyle said, almost to himself.

Hunter's face blossomed with a smile. "See you soon…" Then Hunter's eyes glazed over and he breathed his final breath.

There we wept over Hunter's body. We buried him in the soft brown soul sand, and smiled back as a new face appeared in the mud- that of a young boy, still smiling in anticipation of seeing his brother.

-{}-

We walked away from the grave, praying to the gods that Hunter would be blessed. The voice that saved us turned out to be a woman of about twenty, wearing a red dress and carrying a bow over her shoulder. She introduced herself as Tzol Ave Ruhiyara. "I am very sorry for your loss. Hunter seemed like a cute kid."

She took us back to her place- a large cube of obsidian with a couple beds, lots of chests, and a few holes half a block high for arrow shooting.

"Who's the other bed for?" Kitty asked.

Tzol opened her mouth to answer when a boy walked through the door. He was about my age, but taller. He had dirty blond hair and very blue eyes. He wore a navy blue shirt and grey pants. But most interestingly, he had a pair of white feathery wings.

"Guys, this is Bryce. He is one of BurningCrab's Holy Lobsters- so he's an angel. He came down here a few weeks ago." Tzol introduced him.

"Hello. How do you fare in this hellish dimension?" Bryce talked like a medieval nobleman. Then he shook his head. "Sorry, how are you? I get my time periods mixed up. So, you're Crab's latest hero? Nice. He hasn't picked someone so young in an eon." He grinned. "I was sent here to make sure you didn't get baked by a Blaze or mobbed by Zombie Pigmen."

"Erm… thanks… I guess," I mumbled awkwardly. Then I remembered. "Wait! Does BurningCrab have anything to tell me?"

"Oh yeah, Ave, they need to use the armory. Something about, I'm not sure, saving the world?" He gestured for us to follow him.

-{}-

"Welcome to The Armory!" Bryce flung open the doors of a building camouflaged in the netherrack. Inside were all sorts of weapons- swords, axes, bows, and other less conventional items. I could see enchantment tables and anvils in the corner. "What's ours is yours. Feel free to browse or whatever."

Kyle and Louis drifted over to the bows and started discussing enchantments. Maro asked Bryce for a list of the stuff in the room.

"Booyah!" Kyle yelled. "Power X and Infinity I? How do you get this stuff?"

Tzol laughed. "That's Arias'tama. It was one of the ancient weapons, made by hypixel himself."

Kyle looked like he was about to wet his pants. "C-can I h-have… it?"

"Yeah, why not? We don't ever use it. Marosfly, do you have what you need? That Vampire Blade is from the Aether. Only six are left." Bryce guided Maro to an evil-looking black sword.

Meanwhile, I walked over to the axes. They were all made of Iron and diamond, and some had two blades. I picked out a one-bladed diamond axe. Inscribed on the handle was "Sharpness VII, Looting IV, Fire Aspect II, Unbreaking X." Bryce told me it was called Omega. I gave it a few practice swings and knew. _This_ was the weapon for me.

Kyle walked over, Arias'tama in hand. He gave a low whistle. "Dude, you will kick butt with that. What are you gonna use as a backup? Y'know, in case that breaks?"

In answer, I pulled out the sword he had enchanted for me. Kyle nodded appreciatively.

Maro and Louis also had picked their weapons- Maro the vampire blade, Louis a set of small blue knives.

"Lightning knives," he explained. "Lightning strikes whatever they hit."

I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw Bryce. He looked uncomfortable. "Er, Drake? I was wondering if we- ah, that is, Tzol and I- could, erm, come on your…quest?" He shuffled his feet and looked down. "We've been waiting for an adventure for a long time- Tzol for 20 years, and me for… two thousand."

I grinned. "Bryce, you and Tzol are welcome to join us. In fact, we would appreciate it. But can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah?" asked the relieved angel.

"Tell BurningCrab to stop hijacking my dreams."

**A/N: Oh jeez. I started this, like three days after Outcasts went out. Now, I finally finished it and am actually posting it. Thanks to ToTheSkye for the character Tzol, and to my brother for giving me the idea of the "Holy Lobsters."**

**I promise I won't take this long to update ever again. D: (Probably :T)**

**Crab Out.**


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